Campus Unlife
by NateSean
Summary: A boy is forcibly embraced on the campus of Lyndon State, and its up to the Toreador to find the culprit.
1. Early Dismissal

A/N: I'm still going to finish The Primogen's Love. But as time goes by faster than I can write, I wanted to do a story based in the warmer times now. So here's a new set of characters, all fresh and original and a fresh new story based a few months after Primogen's Love. The plot and concepts are owned by White Wolf and the producers of Kindred the Embraced.

Prologue

Early Dismissal

Professor Murphy wasn't the least bit happy with the interruption. But even one of the most revered theater instructors in New England couldn't ignore the boy who staggered into her classroom an hour after it started.

Snide comments and hushed accusations rose above the auditorium-style classroom like a plague of locusts descending upon the student whom they knew nothing about. Blood trickled from an open wound beneath his clothes, but even now I could tell that his wounds had been inflicted while the clothes were off.

"Silence," Murphy said firmly, and like Moses commanding the plagues the locusts died down. She went to boy's side as he leaned against the whiteboard, trying to keep himself standing. In a soft voice that only a few people could hear she said, "Take it easy. Just sit down here, that's right."

A security officer rushed in to the classroom speaking into the radio.

"Dammit," Alyson cursed. She sat in the seat to my left, pretending to focus on her notebook. "The hospital will get a hold of him before we can."

"Wow…he was just embraced, wasn't he?" Peter asked me. Peter sat to my right, and his eyes were intensely focused on the boy as two more security officers came in with a stretcher from the infirmary.

"Yes," I said, keeping my voice low and urging Peter to do the same. "Not too long ago. He's still bleeding. The professor's going to need us on this one."

"I know that guy," Alyson said, looking up once before the boy was taken away. "Billy Colvin. He was dating my roommate two weeks ago."

Once the boy was out of the classroom the professor addressed the class.

"I know many of you have ideas about that poor boy all ready, none of which are entirely flattering," she said. "I do not know what has happened, but I will not make his life more difficult by spreading childish and unfounded rumors. Lord knows I can't force you to use discretion in this manner, but I ask you to follow my example. Since it is clear to me that many of you are distraught I will allow you to leave class early."

Her response was a chorus of gasps and sarcastic remarks referring to the temperature in hell and flying pigs. For once I was in partial agreement. Professor Murphy had never, in all her years of teaching drama allowed an entire class to leave before it was scheduled. I wasted no time in getting my books and following the professor out of the classroom. She was several steps ahead of me, but she knew I was behind her. In a voice that only our kind can hear, she said, "You know what I expect from you. And I know that you know. Eric is going to want answers."

"I'll get them for you." I promised.

I knew Alyson would teach Peter the art of spin control, but in the meantime, it was my responsibility to get to the boy.


	2. Spin Control

Chapter One

Spin Control

The shrill howl of the ambulance could be heard clearly as it turned onto the road leading up to the admissions building. A nurse and a doctor kept a careful watch on the boy as he rested on a cot in the security office, where the paramedics could quickly get to him. From where I stood it was an impossible situation. In the evening I could work my magic with minimal risk, but broad daylight posed some unfavorable scenarios that would only lead to exposure, or worse.

About ten minutes later the ambulance whirred to a stop at the foot of the concrete walkway. Two paramedics leapt from the back of the van with their own stretcher while security guards held the doors wide open. While they were inside assessing the situation I bolted out of the door so fast there was no difference between me and a gust of wind. Inspiration struck!

I stood as close to the ambulance as possible without being seen. Then, when the paramedics came back out with the boy on the stretcher, I rushed to his side. His shirt was soaked with blood and I pretended to be mortified as I approached.

"Billy? Oh my God, Billy!" I shouted, recalling the name Alyson gave me.

"Sir, we need to get him to a hospital!"

"Please, let me go with you," I said, with as much emotion as I could muster. "Let me go with you, he's my cousin. Someone just told me what happened, oh god, Billy!"

"You can ride in the back with us."

I stood aside while they loaded Billy into the cabin. Then I sat beside one of the paramedics as they fitted themselves with safety masks. I was given one as well for my "protection".

"He's lost a lot of blood," the first one observed. "Let's get his shirt off."

While the second paramedic cut through Billy's shirt with a pair of surgical scissors the first one pulled the right sleeve off and pushed the IV needle into a vein. He taped the tube down and handed the bag to me as the blood began to enter his system.

"Can you hold this sir?"

I took the bag and watched as they tore the shirt back. As I suspected the bite marks were in the hairiest parts of his chest, between the nipples. Drying blood was smeared over his stomach, but the wound had stopped bleeding long ago.

"These are human teeth marks," the second paramedic observed. He looked at me. "Sir, has your cousin been engaging in violent sexual activity?"

"It's possible," I answered with a frustrated sigh. "Billy's never been the smartest one in our family."

"What the…" the paramedic looked at the IV bag I was holding. The blood was emptying gradually, as if someone were drinking from the tube like a straw.

I focused on the paramedics and dominated them into losing the next few moments. The EMT had to focus on driving, but I fixed it so he would forget anything he heard back here.

"Oh, what I do for you people," I groaned.

Billy looked up at me. The pain still racked his body, but the worse had been over hours ago.

"Listen to me," I whispered, cutting into my wrist. "I know what's happening to you. Don't talk, just blink if once for yes, twice for no. Okay?"

Blink.

"Did a girl do this to you?"

Blink.

"Was it a girl from this campus?"

Nothing. He probably didn't know.

"Okay, did she drain your blood and make you drink hers?"

Blink.

"Did anyone else see this?"

Blink, blink.

I let the blood from my wrist flow over the bite mark. There was a fleshy sound as the wound mended and healed itself. Then I took a moist towel from one of the compartments and cleaned away all the dried blood.

"All right, listen to me. It's very important that you don't talk about this to _anyone_. Just be prepared to do as I tell you. Blink if you understand."

Blink.

_Good, _I thought. I wasn't in the mood to argue.

When we arrived to the hospital the paramedics suddenly forgot about the bite marks, the blood, and the IV bag, which was now fully emptied into Billy's body. Instead the staggering and the fainting were all due to massive dehydration, which is what the paramedics told the doctors as he was rushed to the emergency room.

"Good work," Professor Murphy said when I called her. Her manner was brusque but the praise was genuine. "Do you have any other information?"

"Only that it was some girl. And from what Alyson tells me this guy slept around so often it could be anyone."

"Any ideas on the clan?"

"He hasn't said anything."

"Well stay with him until he does. If we can't give Eric something by tomorrow morning he'll have to tell Zarius, and you know what that means."

I shuttered. Zarius was our prince and the master of the Vermont territories. He was a Nosferatu and from what the professor once told me he was the oldest vampire in New England, dating back to Geoffrey Chaucer's school days. He wasn't what bothered us. After all he was the Dean of admissions at Southern Vermont College, a very prestigious private college in Bennington. What bothered us was his enforcer, known throughout New England as the Kindred Slayer.

"We won't let you down Professor."

"I know you won't."


	3. Narrowing the List

Chapter Two

Narrowing the List

His body wasn't doing some funky disfiguration and I could still see his image in the mirror. So that ruled out half the clans in Vermont. According to Alyson, who called me later that evening, Billy transferred to Lyndon State early this semester, after completing his Associate's Degree at Maria College in Albany, New York. She checked the school records and found out that he was currently trying out for the track team and that the coach was seriously considering letting join. Billy's grades were fairly average in the core classes, but his skills were primarily in the sciences.

Now I knew for a fact that Coach Fields and Waters were both Brujah. Albany was heavily populated Brujah territory, and would hate to lose an athlete like Billy. A Ventrue professor taught biological science, but Billy currently took physics in another lab. That left my clan, and in Lyndon State when Professor Murphy wasn't here, Alyson, Peter and I were it. Every Kindred staff member had an alibi, and wouldn't risk endangering the Masquerade over something so stupid. But there were students who were Kindred, and they were suspect too.

We were at the hospital in St. Johnsburry. A few nurses from the children's ward noticed me and said hi. In high school I used to spend my weekends entertaining the sick children by doing a cheesy magic act. The younger ones loved it, but the older kids only got bored, so I taught them the art of improvisational acting and then I was a hit. Now a days I still got called to help cheer up the tough cases. Somehow, every time, I always left with a few smiles.

I spent a few minutes looking at the newborns and pondering their futures. I'd all ready picked out careers for each one. A baby boy in particular was my personal understudy in MacBeth. The name on the side of the crib said "Baby Leewood" and his little brown eyes squinted at me as if he knew his fate.

"Better brush up on your reading and writing," I said softly. "Oh, and you'll have to learn Shakespeare. When you get admitted to UVM I'll be there to teach you."

Billy was moved from the emergency room and placed on a program to cure his dehydration. I went to his room as soon as it was clear. There were no other patients in the room so we had a little privacy, even with the door open. He was a little more conscious now that the Final Torment had long since subsided.

"Dude, what the hell is going on?" He asked, as calmly as he could muster. "I mean this chick just messed me up and suddenly-"

"What can you tell me about this chick?" I asked, taking a seat by the window.

He seemed confused by the question, but answered it anyway.

"I don't know her name. This girl went out with a couple weeks ago introduced me, and I went to a play with her. It was at the college I think."

_Tears Over Spilled Milk,_ I thought, remembering the name of the play. The professor had written it and I was in charge of the casting.

"Was she a student?" I asked.

Billy was quiet while he thought about it.

"No, I don't think so. Or if she was I've never seen her on campus before the night I met her."

"Did you learn _anything_ about her?"

"I went out with her a few times," he said, looking away. I guess he felt a little guilty of his reputation. "I've never been good with names. All I know is that she was an English major and that she liked poetry. She knew all these different poets by heart, Poe, Keats, and some other guy I've never heard of before, Chez something."

I made a note of the name in case it might be useful later.

"I ran into her today," Billy went on. "We didn't have classes for another couple hours so we went down to the gymnasium. No one was there so we kinda started making out. Before I knew it she held my back to the wall and bit into my neck. I tried to fight her off but she was just so strong, it was like trying to move a statue. She made me drink from a cut on her breast. When I was done she bit into my chest and left. I didn't know what to do, I just…something was happening to my body. I lay there on the mat feeling like my body was in a vice."

"Final Torment," I said.

"What?"

"It was your Final Torment. We all go through it when we're embraced."

Billy was confused. I reached for the pitcher and a paper cup on the night stand and poured some water. I handed Billy a cup and poured some for myself.

"This is going to take some time to explain. But the short of it is you are now Kindred. We're vampires, and the girl that bit you was evidently one as well."

"You're saying you're a vampire too?" Billy looked like he was about to hit the panic button.

"Yeah. I was embraced back in 1990, after I graduated from high school."

"Embraced?"

"Turned, brought across, made, etcetera. When another Kindred turns you into a vampire it's called an embrace. But embracing someone forcefully is the human equivalent of rape. That's why we need to find the girl that embraced you so she can be punished."

"I won't be punished will I?"

I shook my head. "No, you have nothing to worry about. So long as you obey our Prince's laws you're going to be fine. But it's very important you do as I say at this point, otherwise I can't help you."

"Well what's going to happen now?"

"Well, first thing to do is to figure out who the girl was who turned you. Now, think hard, who were you with when you first met this girl?"

Billy thought long and hard. It was clear to me that names weren't his forte, and I wondered how much respect he actually had for the girls he dated. From my point of view, he didn't seem like some chauvinistic pig, but looks could be deceiving.

"Kelly…Kelly Romasky." He said at last. "I was dating Kelly Romasky…now that I think about it I think she was…kindred is it?"

Recognition dawned on me. "I know her. She's not Kindred yet, she's a ghoul…I'll explain later. Give me a sec." I flipped out my cell phone and quickly called Alyson. I told her what Billy told me.

"Romasky" Alyson replied, surprised. "Yeah, I remember her too. She transferred here along with her mistress from MCLA. Her mistress is a Toreador."

"But was she the one who turned this guy? From what he tells me it could have easily been a," I shuttered. "A Gangrel."

"Well, we'll find out one way or the other. What was the name of that poet?"

"Chez?"

"I'll Google it while Murphy interrogates the students. Meanwhile, keep an I on Billy and make sure no one comes for him. Oh and Simon?"

"Yes?"

"Quit planning the babies' careers."


	4. Later that Evening

Chapter Three

Later that Evening

I was able to score a few pouches of blood to feed both Billy and myself. At his neonatal stage he needed copious amounts if he was to survive. As is the reason his wounds didn't heal so quickly was because of the lack of blood. What I wanted to know was why his sire wanted to bite him after he had all ready been turned. Did she know what she was doing to begin with? Why didn't she just ask permission to embrace Romasky? With the Tremere gone the population was definitely smaller. The prince wouldn't have minded would he?

Billy fell asleep and I stayed with him under the pretense that I was his family. Visiting hours were over long ago, but a subtle suggestion could make even any nurse, doctor or security guard make an exception. Peter brought me my backpack and I sat by the window reading my paper back copy of Macbeth. When I was done with that I spent an hour and a half studying for my biology final. Alyson loaned me her notes from last semester and they helped to clarify some of the really complicated stuff. It didn't take long for me to grow tired of that, so I left the room and went down to the cafeteria.

There were no cooks for the night but a clerk was at the register. A refrigerated display case was set up with milk, juice, water, pre-made sandwiches, salads, and deserts. I picked up a container of chocolate pudding and a bottle of flavored water. It had been a while since I was a patient in the hospital, so I wasn't sure what they'd allow Billy to eat. I bought him a bottle of water anyway, thinking it wouldn't make him worse and returned to the room. I hadn't sat down more than a few minutes when a doctor came in. He seemed frustrated and there were dark circles under his eyes. I was prepared for a hard time and tensed up.

"I'm sorry to bother you," he said, softly. "But one of the nurses told me you could help me."

"What can I do?" I asked, lowering my guard.

"There's a patient of mine who's having a hard time falling asleep. He's nine years old and due for high risky surgery Friday, and we've been trying to ease his fears as much as possible."

Without a word I went into my back pack and pulled out my deck of playing cards, the one I used for magic tricks. The doctor had a grateful look on his face as he asked me to follow him.

The children's ward was divided into three sections. Two wards held thirteen children between the ages of 5 and 12. Ward A was where the boy slept, and it was there that the doctor led me to one of the beds at the far end. The curtain was pulled but you could see the silhouette of the nurse from the lamp on the nightstand.

I recognized the nurse right away and she mouthed a silent thank you to me as the doctor pulled back the curtain. The boy was lying down against the pillow, eyes wide open. He wore navy blue pajamas with some white dragon from Yu-Gi-Oh on the side pocket. A round head of short brown hair crowned his head like a halo, and he had brown eyes that saw the world through a depressed slump.

The nurse held out her hands so he could see and began speaking sign language. "Corey, this is Simon. He goes to school in Lyndonville. Would you mind if he sat with you for a little bit?"

Corey looked at me with an indifferent glance. I didn't waste any time.

"Hello Corey. How are you doing?" I asked, signing perfectly. "I hear you aren't getting any sleep. You know what I like to do when I can't get to dreamland?"

I pulled out the playing cards and began shuffling them. I began with the traditional shuffle and then I went with a few of the typical theatrics done by magicians. Raising the deck and letting the cards "fly" from one hand to the other. Then I selected the top ten from the deck and spread them out, holding them out to Corey.

"Pick a card, any card," I said, while the nurse signed for me.

The corners of his mouth were beginning to lift as he selected a card.

"Okay, show it to nurse Maggie but don't show it to me."

Corey showed the card to her and she nodded. Then I asked him to place it back in the hand and I shuffled the deck again. I cut the deck in half and showed it to him.

"Was that your card?" I asked.

The nurse signed and Corey shook his head.

"It wasn't? Are you sure?"

Corey gave me a full grin this time, like he had gotten the better of me. I made a show of looking for his card, patting my pockets, looking through the night stand, and checking the doctor's coat lab coat pockets, arousing giggles from the boy who had been afraid and upset just a short time ago.

"Well, I guess the card just went missing." I said, scratching my chin. Then I went back to Corey's side. "Wait a minute…I know where it is now."

Then, I reached behind Corey's ear and "pulled" a card from behind his ear. It was the ace of spades. Corey's mouth hung open and he looked to the nurse, who was just as surprised.

"You were hiding it behind your ear this whole time."

Corey laughed so much he was beginning to exhaust himself. I fiddled with the cards as I said good night, and not long after he nodded off.

"We really appreciate that," Maggie said, hugging me once.

"Anytime," I said.

The doctor walked with me as I returned to Billy's room.

"You know if you could stop by a few more times this week I'd be more than grateful," he said. "We don't want Corey spending the week worried about the surgery, and seeing his spirits lifted makes me more optimistic."

"You've got it," I replied, sincerely. "I only hope his parents are all right with it."

"I'll explain it to them if they have concerns. And I'd be more than happy to give you a letter of recommendation to go in your portfolio."

I left the doctor with the promise that I'd return. When I returned to Billy's room I was surprised to find someone else in there with him. A girl with long dark hair dressed in a tight black shirt, a brown duster, and black jeans. Her eyes changed color briefly as she stood between me and Billy.

"I didn't expect you to make it this easy," I commented, trying to sound tougher than I was, "Although, from what I've seen, thinking ahead obviously isn't your strong point."

"Here's how it works," the girl said. "You let me take Billy out of here. I let you live."

"Pfft, someone's been watching too many movies. Let me tell you how it works, you face my professor and if our primogen's feeling generous you don't get your head lopped off for breaking the Prince's rules."

She advanced on me slowly. "How's your prince gonna find out if you get killed?"

"Trust me; you don't want to go there."

I saw a red panic button to my left. She stopped as she saw me seeing it.

"Don't do this," she begged. "You and I, we're the same clan, Toreador. We should be looking after each other."

"I agree. But you're endangering the other members of our clan, and if I let you get away with it I'd be no worse than you."

We heard footsteps coming towards the room. The door opened and I looked up, but when the nurse came in a bird flew out the window.

"Is everything okay?" the nurse asked, noticing I was troubled.

"Yes, I'm fine," I lied, looking back at Billy, who was sound asleep. "Billy was having a nightmare. But he's fine now."

He checked Billy's vitals and left the room. I went to the window and scanned the roof of the hospital, the grounds, and the street below. Nothing. I looked back at Billy.

"Well," I said. "At least you're one of us."


	5. Rehearsal

A/N: You know the problem with having a prologue with your story? You mess up the chapters until you remember to label them appropriately. Anyway, the scene of the play being rehearsed is entirely my imagination. It is not plagiarized from any other known script.

Chapter Four

Rehearsal

"You asshole!" Alyson shouted. "I let you spend all _my_ money and sit on your ass all day in _my_ apartment. And I find you've been cheating on me with that slut?"

"I'm not cheating on you!" James replied, flatly. "Alyson, you're closer to me than anyone. I need you."

"Is that what you told her too? How many other girls have you slept with while I've been at work?"

"Uh…hang on." James flipped the page over and read the line. "I didn't sleep with Bethany…you see Carol I'm gay."

"No, no, no." Professor Murphy said, stepping up onto the stage. "James this is a very emotional part of the play. You need to read this line with more feeling, you want Carol, the girl you've been dating for a year to be shocked by your response."

"Well I could read the line better if it were all on one page."

_Bad move,_ I thought, slouching in the theater seat.

"Could you now?" The professor said in a cutting voice. "Perhaps you'd also read the line better if you actually _studied_ it."

"I had a lot of homework."

The professor paced around the stage, gesturing to each student present as she spoke. "Alyson has homework every night. She also corrects papers and directs rehearsals when I'm not here. Maxwell manages to juggle a 4.0 grade point average while playing the trombone in the school band, and he's devoting his time to this production I might add. Theodore has a part time job he must focus on while he goes to school here. Tell me James, what do you do with your time that these people don't? Because you're the only one who's not studied that script and it's costing us valuable production time."

What amazed me was how calmly the professor was saying all of this, and yet James jaw dropped as if she were yelling it at the top of her lungs. Alyson looked up at me and rolled her eyes. I nodded to show agreement.

"I'll study all night tonight," James said, pleading. "Just please, don't take the part from me, this is my big chance."

Professor Murphy crossed her arms and paced along the stage. She stopped and turned to regard him, as though she were seriously considering dropping him. I knew better though. She gave me that same act when I left high school ten years ago, only then I wasn't rehearsing a part in the play. Back then she wanted to gage my passion and find out whether or not I was worthy of the gift of eternal life.

James looked like he would die if he didn't get the part. I could feel the passion burning inside of him, and I knew if he was given the chance he'd prove himself. This wasn't the same passion I'd seen in other freshman. Most students come to college like Lyndon State and they think it's a four year party on their parent's dollar. James was an actor, and he knew he needed these four years to strengthen his skills and master the craft. His only problem was juggling his priorities and we could help him with that.

"Take the rest of the day to study your lines." Professor Murphy said finally. "Practice, rehearse, read every line forward and backward. When you are on this stage you are no longer James Phelps, you are Marcus Sattler, a man in his early thirties who has denied his sexual orientation and will do whatever he can to _convince_ himself and others that he is straight. Marcus Sattler is desperate for Carol's understanding and friendship."

"I will," James promised.

"In the meantime, I want to show you how it is done. Simon!"

I sat up and gestured to myself, as if I were surprised she would call me. The professor motioned me down and I swaggered down the steps, grinning playfully as I climbed up onto the stage.

"Stop showing off," the professor snapped. "Simon, you've been reading my play for a while. Do you have all the lines down?'

"Naturally."

"James, watch his every move. Simon, you will do this scene with Alyson and then, I want you to work with James. Help him get better, understand?"

I bowed and the professor went back to her seat. The set wasn't complete, but that was fine since this scene was on my feet most of the time. Alyson took her position and I took mine just outside the "door" of the apartment.

"Begin."

I placed an imaginary key in an imaginary keyhole and opened the door. Alyson stood there with her arms crossed.

"Where were you last night?" She demanded.

"I…I was at my mother's."

"That's not what she said. You want to try another one?"

I ran my hand through my hair.

"Oh that's right," Alyson said, getting into my face. "You've just got so many secrets don't you? You sit on your ass all day, you can never hold down a job, you eat constantly and when you're not eating your asleep on the couch. Now you think you can just walk off and not tell me where you're going to be?"

I collapsed in a plastic chair that was meant to be the sofa. The set wasn't complete yet so we improvised.

"I was out with a friend." I said, wringing my hands and looking at everything accept her.

"What friend?"

"Bethany."

Alyson exploded.

"You asshole! I let you spend all _my_ money and sit on your ass all day in _my_ apartment. And I find you've been cheating on me with that slut?"

""I'm not cheating on you!" I snapped, jumping to my feet. "Alyson, you're closer to me than anyone. I need you."

"Is that what you told her too? How many other girls have you slept with while I've been at work?"

I turned away letting my hands fall to my side and looking down at the floor. I held the bridge of my nose for emphasis. Then I turned to Alyson and said very calmly, "I didn't sleep with Bethany. Carol…I'm gay."

Alyson's jaw dropped. She seemed to be angry and shocked at the same time.

"You…you're what?"

"I'm gay."

Alyson sank into the chair, looking up at me incredulously. Then her tone mellowed and her expression became sad.

"When did you…?"

"High school," I said. "Freshman year in the locker room, I caught a glimpse of a few of the guys in the shower and well...I knew if anyone ever found out I'd be dead."

"Perfect!" Professor Murphy said. "That is how you must act James."

I jumped down from the stage and went to where James was sitting.

"I'd be very happy to help you out," I said, holding out my hand. "What do you say we look at our schedules and find a good time to rehearse?"

"That'd be great," James said. I could tell as he shook my hand that he was truly impressed with my performance. "I'm surprised you didn't try for this part."

"Nah. I'm not into controlled performances. I like improv better, when you have to make it up as you go along. Anyway, meet me at dinner tonight and we'll talk turkey."

Professor Murphy gave a few last minute instructions to the other students. She gently admonished them to study their lines and prepare to read their lines off book by Monday. Alyson practiced her lines while I spoke to the professor.

"I didn't catch her name," I explained. "But the girl was definitely a Toreador."

"Yes, I made the same discovery," She said. "Alyson was searching for a poet named Chez. The reason she didn't find him is that none of Martin Chez's work has ever been published."

"Who's Martin Chez?"

"Exactly. No one ever knew who he was because he was killed in the blood hunt."

Alyson stopped what she was doing and turned her attention to the professor. I have to admit, I was interested too.

The professor sighed. "Well, someone had to tell you about this sooner or later. Martin Chez grew up in London during the late seventeen sixties. On his twenty-fourth birthday he inherited an enormous fortune from his father, a wealthy man who bred falcons for hunting.

"Immediately after getting a hold of the money Martin sold the family business and poured his finances into buying a studio, paint, oils, and canvases. He set out to be the next Botticelli and he soon proved to be worthy of the comparison. In addition to his paintings he was also an accomplished poet, and was called on occasion to read his work before students of Oxford and Cambridge. In 1773 Martin was embraced by the Toreador.

"Over the next century his paintings became more involved and his poetry was taking a drastic change. He did portraits of the Kindred princes of the era, which wasn't wrong in any sense, but the Elders began to worry that his work would draw unwanted attention. Fears of a new Inquisition arose as Martin did portrait after portrait of Kindred feeding, embracing, and battling one another. His sire approached him with these concerns, and Martin refused to hear them.

"The blood hunt was declared when he wrote a poem that all intents and purposes, told everyone how the embrace was performed." Professor Murphy paused for a second. "If I can recall, the stanzas that really stood out were, Give of your soul to me, and I shall give of my soul to you. Like a wave against the sea the pain will come, as the blood flies through your veins, you and I will be one."

"But who would have guessed it meant embrace?" I asked.

"Could you take the chance that someone might discover the truth?" The professor countered. "Hunters know what to look for."

Alyson stepped down off the stage.

"So when was this guy actually killed?"

"Very recently," Professor Murphy answered. "In the time since the blood hunt was declared Martin was able to escape the London Camarilla and hide here in the States. He became professor of art in Keene State in New Hampshire, and in that time I wouldn't be surprised if he had embraced several of the students he taught by the time he was put to Final Death."

"And this girl has been wandering around for God knows how long," Alyson summed up. "Well it doesn't make our job any easier. Do we kill her?"

"It's either that or the Prince will." I reminded her.

"I don't want either of you attempting to kill her," Professor Murphy said, firmly. "Eric wants us to deal with this as quietly as possible. Keep the other Kindred students from talking about this and spreading rumors, and try to keep the campus newspaper from writing articles about this incident. When the time comes I will kill the girl."


End file.
